University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, February 16
Chapel Hill
4 p.m.
North Carolina
vs
Wagner
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Diamond Heels Host Wagner To Start 2024
February 15, 2024 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels will lift the lid on their 2024 season Friday against Wagner of the Northeast Conference (NEC) in game one of a three-game weekend series at Boshamer Stadium.
All three games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra beginning with Friday afternoon's 4 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game is scheduled for noon, while Sunday's installment is at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels return 19 lettermen from last year's NCAA Regional team and welcome one of the nation's top recruiting classes led by D1 Baseball's No. 3 freshman class.
This will be the first match-up in program history against Wagner and the first regular season game against an NEC opponent since 2004 (St. Francis). The last time the Tar Heels played an NEC opponent overall was 2008 when they defeated Mount St. Mary's in the 2008 NCAA Cary Regional.
The Tar Heels are opening the season at home for the sixth consecutive season and have won 13 of 16 home openers since returning to the renovated Boshamer Stadium in 2009. Carolina has a record of 87-45-2 in season openers.
UNC has won each of its last nine season-opening series while featuring a 24-3 record (.889) in its first series of the year.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
All three games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra beginning with Friday afternoon's 4 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game is scheduled for noon, while Sunday's installment is at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels return 19 lettermen from last year's NCAA Regional team and welcome one of the nation's top recruiting classes led by D1 Baseball's No. 3 freshman class.
This will be the first match-up in program history against Wagner and the first regular season game against an NEC opponent since 2004 (St. Francis). The last time the Tar Heels played an NEC opponent overall was 2008 when they defeated Mount St. Mary's in the 2008 NCAA Cary Regional.
The Tar Heels are opening the season at home for the sixth consecutive season and have won 13 of 16 home openers since returning to the renovated Boshamer Stadium in 2009. Carolina has a record of 87-45-2 in season openers.
UNC has won each of its last nine season-opening series while featuring a 24-3 record (.889) in its first series of the year.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
| Friday | 4 ET (ACCNX) | Saturday | 12 ET (ACCNX) | Sunday | 1 ET (ACCNX) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner | RHP Frankie Wright (5-3, 2.90 ERA) | RHP Connor Hayden (9-1, 3.93 ERA) | TBA |
| Carolina | LHP Folger Boaz | RHP Ben Peterson (3-0, 5.40 ERA) | RHP Olin Johnson |
| Links | WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS |
The Tar Heels are a consensus top-20 team entering the 2024 season. Three of the five major national media polls ranked UNC inside the top 15, with Perfect Game listing it at No. 14. D1 Baseball and the USA Today Coaches Poll listed Carolina at No. 15.
SERIES PROMOTIONS
Team schedule posters will be given out before Friday's season opener, and the first 200 fans will receive a UNC blanket on Sunday.
PARKING
SERIES PROMOTIONS
Team schedule posters will be given out before Friday's season opener, and the first 200 fans will receive a UNC blanket on Sunday.
PARKING
Due to Saturday's men's basketball game, parking inside the Ram's Head Deck will be limited to ADA Spectator Parking that afternoon. Spectators may park in the Raleigh Road Visitor's Lot, Cobb Deck, Bell Tower Deck, or the T Lot. The Ram's Head Deck will be available for public parking on Friday and Sunday for $10.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner improved by 15 wins between 2022 and 2023 and posted a 32-24 overall record. The Seahawks have been picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference this season after recording a 21-9 conference record a year ago and finishing second behind Central Connecticut State. Catcher David Melfi and second baseman Chris Coniff are ranked among D1 Baseball's Top 50 Players in the organization's preseason player rankings. In 2023, Melfi led the Seahawks with career-highs in OPS (1.019), doubles (16), home runs (11), RBIs (60), and slugging percentage (.594). Coniff led the team in batting average (.370), hits (81), walks (36) and on-base percentage (.468). He also produced a 1.016 OPS. Junior Connor Hayden was recognized by D1Baseball.com as a preseason Top-150 starting pitcher heading into the 2024 campaign. He posted a 9-1 record with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, striking out 73 batters in 73.2 innings pitched.
UNC vs. THE NEC
UNC is opening the season against an NEC opponent for the first time. Wagner will be just the third current member of the Northeast Conference to appear in UNC's record book. Carolina has previous games with current NEC members Delaware State (1-0) and LeMoyne (4-2). This will be the Tar Heels' first game against an NEC team since 2008, when they defeated Mount St. Mary's in the NCAA Cary Regional opening game (16-8). Carolina is playing a regular season game against an NEC team for the first time since 2004 when it swept a three-game series at Boshamer Stadium from St. Francis (N.Y.) by a combined score of 42-8 (15-3, 22-5, 5-0).
OPENING DAY STARTERS
The opening day lineup is expected to look much different this season compared to a year ago. Although the Tar Heels have four returning opening-day starters, only Vance Honeycutt (CF) and Casey Cook (LF) are expected to start for the second straight season. Honeycutt has started all 114 games he's played in center field. Cook has started 46 consecutive games and played 56 of 58 career games.
ROOKIES IN THE ROTATION
The Tar Heels will have two freshmen in its opening weekend rotation (Folger Boaz, Olin Johnson) for the first time since 2012 when rookies Chris O'Brien and Benton Moss made up two-thirds of the weekend rotation (along with sophomore Kent Emanuel). Prior to 2012, the only other time UNC had a freshman start two of its first three games was in 2001 when Scott Senatore (vs. JMU) and Scott Manshack (vs. Coastal Carolina) started the second and third games of the season. Boaz will be first Carolina freshman to make his Tar Heel debut as the opening day starter since Ryan Snare in 1998.
NEARING THREE THOUSAND WINS
Carolina enters the 2024 season five wins shy of becoming the eighth team in NCAA history with 3,000 victories. The Tar Heels start the new season with 2,995 wins, tied with Clemson for eighth-most in NCAA history. UNC and Clemson are two of three teams expected to reach the milestone this season along with Arizona (2,988). Southern California (3,003) and Arizona State (3,001) reached the milestone last season.
NEXT 40-40 MEMBER
Vance Honeycutt is three home runs away from becoming the fourth member of the UNC career 40-40 (home runs/stolen bases). Honeycutt has swiped 47 bases in his career and blasted 37 home runs. As a freshman, he became the first 20-20 player in school history with 25 home runs and 29 stolen bases.
THE OPPOSITION
The Tar Heels will play 17 games against teams that are ranked in at least one preseason poll: Coastal Carolina (1), Duke (3), East Carolina (3), NC State (3), South Carolina (1), Virginia (3) and Wake Forest (3). Carolina will play 44 games against teams that finished inside the top 65 of the final 2023 RPI rankings, including 25 games versus NCAA regional teams.
CLOSE TO HOME
Carolina has 54 games scheduled for 2024, including 34 at home inside Boshamer Stadium. UNC will play 14 of its 20 road/neutral site games in North Carolina, with three of its ACC away series against Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels will play true road games against Campbell, East Carolina, and UNCW, with a game against ECU in Fayetteville and one versus South Carolina in Charlotte. UNC will leave the state of North Carolina just twice this season with ACC road series at Miami and Virginia.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner improved by 15 wins between 2022 and 2023 and posted a 32-24 overall record. The Seahawks have been picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference this season after recording a 21-9 conference record a year ago and finishing second behind Central Connecticut State. Catcher David Melfi and second baseman Chris Coniff are ranked among D1 Baseball's Top 50 Players in the organization's preseason player rankings. In 2023, Melfi led the Seahawks with career-highs in OPS (1.019), doubles (16), home runs (11), RBIs (60), and slugging percentage (.594). Coniff led the team in batting average (.370), hits (81), walks (36) and on-base percentage (.468). He also produced a 1.016 OPS. Junior Connor Hayden was recognized by D1Baseball.com as a preseason Top-150 starting pitcher heading into the 2024 campaign. He posted a 9-1 record with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, striking out 73 batters in 73.2 innings pitched.
UNC vs. THE NEC
UNC is opening the season against an NEC opponent for the first time. Wagner will be just the third current member of the Northeast Conference to appear in UNC's record book. Carolina has previous games with current NEC members Delaware State (1-0) and LeMoyne (4-2). This will be the Tar Heels' first game against an NEC team since 2008, when they defeated Mount St. Mary's in the NCAA Cary Regional opening game (16-8). Carolina is playing a regular season game against an NEC team for the first time since 2004 when it swept a three-game series at Boshamer Stadium from St. Francis (N.Y.) by a combined score of 42-8 (15-3, 22-5, 5-0).
OPENING DAY STARTERS
The opening day lineup is expected to look much different this season compared to a year ago. Although the Tar Heels have four returning opening-day starters, only Vance Honeycutt (CF) and Casey Cook (LF) are expected to start for the second straight season. Honeycutt has started all 114 games he's played in center field. Cook has started 46 consecutive games and played 56 of 58 career games.
ROOKIES IN THE ROTATION
The Tar Heels will have two freshmen in its opening weekend rotation (Folger Boaz, Olin Johnson) for the first time since 2012 when rookies Chris O'Brien and Benton Moss made up two-thirds of the weekend rotation (along with sophomore Kent Emanuel). Prior to 2012, the only other time UNC had a freshman start two of its first three games was in 2001 when Scott Senatore (vs. JMU) and Scott Manshack (vs. Coastal Carolina) started the second and third games of the season. Boaz will be first Carolina freshman to make his Tar Heel debut as the opening day starter since Ryan Snare in 1998.
NEARING THREE THOUSAND WINS
Carolina enters the 2024 season five wins shy of becoming the eighth team in NCAA history with 3,000 victories. The Tar Heels start the new season with 2,995 wins, tied with Clemson for eighth-most in NCAA history. UNC and Clemson are two of three teams expected to reach the milestone this season along with Arizona (2,988). Southern California (3,003) and Arizona State (3,001) reached the milestone last season.
NEXT 40-40 MEMBER
Vance Honeycutt is three home runs away from becoming the fourth member of the UNC career 40-40 (home runs/stolen bases). Honeycutt has swiped 47 bases in his career and blasted 37 home runs. As a freshman, he became the first 20-20 player in school history with 25 home runs and 29 stolen bases.
THE OPPOSITION
The Tar Heels will play 17 games against teams that are ranked in at least one preseason poll: Coastal Carolina (1), Duke (3), East Carolina (3), NC State (3), South Carolina (1), Virginia (3) and Wake Forest (3). Carolina will play 44 games against teams that finished inside the top 65 of the final 2023 RPI rankings, including 25 games versus NCAA regional teams.
CLOSE TO HOME
Carolina has 54 games scheduled for 2024, including 34 at home inside Boshamer Stadium. UNC will play 14 of its 20 road/neutral site games in North Carolina, with three of its ACC away series against Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels will play true road games against Campbell, East Carolina, and UNCW, with a game against ECU in Fayetteville and one versus South Carolina in Charlotte. UNC will leave the state of North Carolina just twice this season with ACC road series at Miami and Virginia.
Players Mentioned
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